Inside The Panthers

Pitt C Federiko Federiko Makes Finland's World Cup Roster

Pitt Panthers center Federiko Federiko will compete for his home nation in the FIBA World Cup.

Stephen Thompson

Pitt C Federiko Federiko Makes Finland's World Cup Roster
Pitt C Federiko Federiko Makes Finland's World Cup Roster /
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PITTSBURGH -- Pitt Panthers center Federiko Federiko spent part of his summer in his home nation of Finland, practicing with the Susejengi Rising All Stars and the Finnish National Team.

Turns out that brief time away from Pitt was time well-spent for Federiko, who learned this week that he had made the extended roster that will represent Finland in the 2023 FIBA World Cup in the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan. 

The Finnish roster is headlined by 2023 NBA All-Star and Most Improved Player Award winner, Lauri Markkanen, a rising star forward for the Utah Jazz. 

Federiko suffered a sprained MCL during the Panthers' postseason run this past March, but is fully recovered and back to full strength as of last month. 

The 6'11 sophomore JuCo transfer averaged 6.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks over 35 games and 27 starts while making 66.7% of his field goals for the Panthers a season ago. 

Finland begins their World Cup run on August 25 in Okinawa, Japan against Australia. Over the next five days, they'll play two more games against Japan and Germany. There will be a second group stage from August 31 to September 3 before the single-elimination championship tournament begins on September 5 in Manila, Philippines. 

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper.  He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press.  During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general.  You can reach Stephen by email at stephenethompson00@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his latest work:

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